


Counsel

by major_general



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: BIG ONES, Comedy then sadness, Defenders Spoilers, Gen, Like the whole ending, so watch defenders and then read this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 07:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11846604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/major_general/pseuds/major_general
Summary: What do you do when you find out your teenager has superpowers and has been risking his life fighting crime?





	Counsel

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the beginning of this back when the Spider-Baby movie came out, but could never figure out how to end it. Then I watched the Defenders and discovered the perfect sad ending.

“What the fuck! What the actual fuck, Peter!”

He was dead now. His soul had definitely left his body. He was so dead. So very dead.

“Do not try to tell me that is some kind of costume.”

Shit shit shit shit shit

“This is much too nice for you to have made yourself so don’t give me any bullshit.”

Jumping out the window seems like an option, but it’s only temporary. He’d have to come back.  Oh fuck, she had the mask.

“What even is this?”

No, May! Don’t put it on. Oh no.

“Hello Mrs. Parker. How are you today?”

“Peter, why the fuck is this mask talking to me?”

“That’s Karen.  She, uh, sort of runs the functions on the suit.”

“I am here to assist in any way you need,” the goddamn mask said.

May pulled the mask from her head, “I’m going to murder Tony Stark.”

 

After she’d finished cursing and Peter had stopped trying to lie to her about what she could clearly see with her own two eyes, May realized that not only had Tony Stark encouraged her fifteen-year-old to fight crime in spandex but he had also kidnapped her child and taken him to Germany. That set off another round of invective that ended with her confiscating the suit and grounding her apparently super-powered child.

“You will go to school and come straight home. You do not stop for cats. You do not stop if you see a crime in progress. You facetime me the minute you walk into the apartment. You do it again an hour later. You stay in your room for the time being and you don’t leave the goddamn country without my permission. Do you understand me?"

“Yeah,” he breathed, “yeah.”

“DO YOU?”

“Yes, Aunt May.”

He promised but he was a fifteen-year-old who thought it was a good idea to fight Captain America, so she needed better assurances that Tony fucking Stark wasn’t going to kidnap her child and bring him to any more battles against any other super soldiers or aliens? Aliens were a possibility. Even just corrupt businessmen. That Stark Expo had not been a good idea. Super soldiers and aliens? What was she supposed to do about this? This was definitely not in any parenting book. She couldn’t ask his school counselor. She couldn’t go to the cops. They might arrest Peter. Or worse. Who knew how those Soa-Slo-SOKOVIA Accords even worked? Do they apply to teenaged vigilantes? Would accusing Tony Fucking Stark of contributing to the delinquency of a minor get Peter locked in some black site prison? Is that where Captain America was? How was this even her life now? It was clear to her that she needed answers and googling this was probably not the best idea. She needed help. She needed someone who might understand even 10% of this. She needed a goddamn lawyer.

 

Matt wasn’t sure why he still came to the office. It was too expensive for him to keep using without a partner and the few clients he had didn’t really come here that often. He should just get rid of the place. And definitely not sit around in it waiting for people to randomly show up.

He was about to give up for the day and go to Josie’s when he heard the steps in the hall. There was a woman, definitely over 40, and a boy, midteens, coming to his door. They’d had hot dogs from Salim’s cart on 9th. The boy was almost panicking. The smell of fear wafted down the hallway and his heart seemed to be beating even faster than it should. The woman was angry. He went to Karen’s (former) desk to greet them as they arrived.

“Is this Nelson and Murdock?”

“Not any more. Now it’s just Murdock.”

“And you’re him? The blind lawyer? The one who defended the Punisher?”

Matt sighed, “Yes.”

“Good. I have some legal questions and I was hoping you could answer them.”

“Certainly, Ms…?”

She hesitated, “Let’s just go with Doe for now.”

“Attorney/client privilege would protect your identity, Ms. Doe.”

“Let’s see what your answers are and then I’ll let you know if I want to retain your services, counselor. Can we talk in one of these rooms?”

“Of course, right through here.”

After a few steps, she turned to the boy, who had made to follow her and ordered, “You. Sit down here and don’t you move until we’re done.”

“Yes, A—”

“Nope. Not a word.”

“Sorry.”

 

The woman squirmed in her chair. Her nerves made her heart beat faster and he could smell the start of sweat on her temples.

“How can I help you?”

She took two deep breaths and said, “I need to know about the Sokovia Accords.”

“Excuse me?”

“I need to know who they apply to. I need to know if they apply to minors.”

Shit. The boy.

“What has he done?”

Her breath caught and he smelled salt in her eyes. “He—It’s not as much about him as it is about Tony Stark.”

“Tony Stark? Iron man? I don’t—“

“He kidnapped my child and took him to Germany to fight Captain America.”

 “I’m sorry,” Matt paused. “Why would he do that?”

“Because apparently my child can catch cars and stick to walls and he didn’t even tell me but _Tony Stark_ can somehow figure it out from YouTube videos.”

 _Spider-Man_. “I see.”

“He kidnapped my child and I want him to pay for that.” Her heartbeat was clear. She took a breath. “I want him to pay, but I don’t want my boy’s life ruined. What can I do?”

“There’s not much. As soon as you report this, your information will be taken down and people _will_ know that your son” a strange jump in her heart “is subject to the Accords. You may want to wait it out. There’s hope that the Accords might be revoked or revised. As there is no statute of limitations for kidnapping when it comes to taking a minor across international borders, you do not have to immediately seek justice. You can wait for him to be ready to deal with the fall out, either because he’s an adult who understands the consequences (and that would be after he’s 25) or because the Accords have been dismantled.”

“There’s nothing else?” defeat was in her voice.

“Nothing legal. Nothing that won’t put you and your child in danger.”

“What can I do?” more salt.

“You can take care of your child. I can do more research. I can look for other avenues.” She nodded and he didn’t bother to pretend that he couldn’t tell. “If I am going to do that, I’m going to need you to officially become my clients, for your own protection. I will need you to sign a contract and give me, let’s say $10.”

Disbelief again.“That’s all?”

“Just enough to say you paid. I don’t need the money. I do need to talk to the boy though.”

 

 

“Are you going to stop?”

The boy squirmed. He was not. “I promised A—my—uh—her I wouldn’t do it anymore.”

Matt sighed, “She signed a contract. You can use names. Also, you’re lying. To me and to yourself.”

“Peter!”

“I’m going to stop!”

Ah, verb tense, thought Matt, “Shouldn’t that be, I have stopped?”

“I stopped! I did! I turned down the Avengers!”

“But you aren’t going to stop. I can tell when you are lying.” Matt tried to put as much meaning into his words as possible.  “I know when you are lying. You don’t want to stop.” Softer, “Tell me why you do it.”

Peter’s heart picked up. “Because I can. I can and if I don’t and someone gets hurt—”

Well, fuck. “Ok. What training do you have?”

“Training?”

“Martial arts? Boxing? Karate? Capoeira?”

“I practiced doing some flips and things? I was always more into science. I didn’t take any martial arts classes.”

“So you are telling me that no one has ever taught you how to fight and you think you can take on other enhanced people?”

He shrugged, “I—I did ok against Captain America?”

May barked out a laugh, “He dropped a bridge on you.”

“It wasn’t that bad. I mean, it was a jetway.”

“This time,” Matt said. “It could be so much worse if you keep going like this. Or it could be better if you had the right training.”

“I’ve got the suit? I don’t need training.”

“As far as your aunt has told me, you don’t have the suit, and you won’t get it back unless you come to Fogwell’s at 7 on Sunday. Wear gym clothes. The regulars are gone by 6 on Sundays and it’ll just be us.”

 

It was dark and dingy and looked like a bookie might be hiding out to try and throw a match. And somehow, somehow, she’d been convinced to bring her teenager here.

Her lawyer was in the boxing ring in sweats and a t-shirt. He wasn’t wearing his glasses. If she had doubted his blindness ever, she couldn’t do so now. And she’d thought it a good idea to bring her teenager here. To be trained to fight. By a blind lawyer. This was a terrible idea.

“Look, Mr. Murdock. I’m not sure this is the best idea.”

He agreed, but someone had to step up since it didn’t seem like Tony Stark was going to do more than throw tech at the boy. You can’t just give a teenager a suit and then ignore him, especially one who had lost not one but two fathers in his short life. “Ms. Parker, I don’t see any other option.”

“I don’t want to doubt your capabilities, but it doesn’t seem like you are asking to be beat up by someone with superpowers.”

“What makes you think I don’t have any abilities of my own?”

She really had no answer for that, “Well, if the man insists, Peter get in the ring.”

Peter hesitated.

“Now,” commanded Murdock.

The little show off did a flip to get in the ring.

“Good,” Murdock said, “now hit me.”

“What? I—I can’t hit a blind guy,” Peter said as he edged away.

 

 

Matt knew that he wasn’t going to get through to them, that they would leave and Peter would be left with no training, if he wasn’t able to convince them in the next ten minutes that this was the best course of action. So five minutes it would be.

“Ms. Parker—”

“May.”

“May, could you put a timer on for five minutes?”

She was thinking of leaving. He knew she was thinking of leaving, but she got out her phone and set the timer for five minutes.

“Great. Peter, you have five minutes to hit me once and I have five minutes to get you three times. If you’ll press start, May?”

Peter didn’t move. He didn’t try anything. So Matt kicked him in the face. “That’s one.”

After that, Peter actually tried. And tried. And tried to hit Matt, but Matt stayed one step ahead and managed to sweep Peter’s feet out from under him and later send him flying with a kick to the chest just as time ran out on May’s phone.

“That’s time,” she breathed.

As Peter jumped to his feet, Matt stood at rest. “Do you see why you need training?”

“How? How’d you do that?”

Matt sighed, “Some people, when they recruit enhanced children to  be soldiers in a war for them, actually take the time to train those kids.”

May’s heart skipped.

“I’m not recruiting anyone,” Matt quickly reassured them. “I was actually a reject from a child army. They sure do keep trying to get me to join up as an adult though.” Increased heart rates. Be clear.  “But I’m not interested. I just, I know what it’s like. I _hear_ them. People suffering all around this city. I can help, but it’s cost me everything. You need to be prepared so it doesn’t cost you anything.”

Peter’s heart made it clear that the warning came too late.

“Or, at least, nothing else.”

“What do you mean,” Peter asked. “what do you mean that you hear them? What do you do?”

“Oh, sorry,” Matt was genuinely perplexed, “did you not? Uh, I’m Daredevil?”

May let out a breath, “Are you telling me I hired a vigilante to be my kid’s lawyer? How the fuck is this my life?”

“Sorry, May.”

“Well, who would be better at defending a vigilante than a retired vigilante?” Matt asked. “And attorney/client privilege protects you but not me, so I’d appreciate it if we kept this between us. So do you want my help?”

Peter’s heart was practically bursting out of his chest, “Yes. Yes! Uh, yes, Mr. Daredevil, sir, I want to learn.”

“Ok, first rule. No fighting crime until I say you are ready to go back out there again. And you don’t question my judgment.”

 

_______________________________________________

 

 

The training was going well enough that May had agreed not to come every week and Peter really felt like he was getting a handle on his skills and his senses and was just really happy to be doing this. This was great. It would be better if he were helping people, but this is going to make him better at that so yeah, great.

The only problem was that this Sunday, the lights in the gym were off and the door was locked. There had been some trouble in Midtown, maybe Matt was just taking this week off. If that was the case though, he should have called or texted.

Peter shot off a quick text, “Hey Matt, Im at the gym. Are you coming?” Then he waited. And waited. He was about to leave when a drunk woman stumbled in.

“You him?” she asked.

“Uh…”

“I bet you’re him. Guys,” she shouted out the door, “I found the kid.”

“I think I should maybe get going. My aunt is expecting me and I don’t know you.”

Two familiar looking men walked in the door just as Peter was trying to sneak around the woman.

“This him?” the bigger one asked.

“Me? I’m no one. Just a dumb teenager hanging out in a hallway. I should be going.”

“Wait, kid,” the other man said , stepping in Peter’s way again. “Were you supposed to meet Matt Murdock here?”

Shit. Shit shit. Shitshitshitshit. How did they know that? What did they want? Was he going to have to fight all three of them just to get out of the building? And wait—Supposed to?

“Maybe.”

“Kid’s terrified, Danny. Back off.” The woman said. “Look kid, I’m Jessica. That’s Luke and Danny and Matt told us to come here for you.”

Still didn’t sound right. He could maybe get out a window?

“Kid,” Luke? said. “Look, we don’t know your name. We don’t know why Matt was supposed to meet you. But he asked. Well, he asked Danny” Who sort of tried to put on a friendly smile “and we are all here because. Well, there’s no good way to say this.”

No. “No,” he whispered.

“You know that building that collapsed the other day?”

No No NO NO NONONONONONO!!! Not again. “Yeah?”

“Matt was inside. He was in the basement. He was trying to save someone. He told us all to leave and told Danny to take care of the city and you. So we’re here. Jones, give me one of your cards. I’m going to write my number and Danny’s going to write his. If you need anything, we’ve got you.”

The tears started to fall. “He was…he was teaching me to fight. And he was my lawyer.”

“Mine too,” Jess said in a way that she hoped was sympathetic.

“If you want to learn how to fight,” Danny added, “we could do that for you. There’s a dojo that I practice at. You could come there. “

Peter hesitated, “He was teaching me a special fighting technique. And my aunt knew about it and was cool with it.”

“Special like he was special?” Jessica asked.

“Was he…was he special?”

“Kid, we’re all special. Danny, show him your glowy hand.”

“It’s my chi.”

“Whatever, just show him,” she insisted.

Holy fuck his hand was glowing.

Luke looked him in the eye, “And you can google me and Jones. Jessica Jones. Luke Cage. Look us up and let us know if you need anything or want someone to train you.”

Peter tried to collect himself, “Well,” he said through a few tears, “I’d have to ask my aunt.”


End file.
